Cincy band's second full-length for RCA Records due later this year

The
reigning Cincinnati Entertainment Award winners of the Artist of the Year
honors, Alt Pop quartet Walk the Moon,
are finally set to release their second album for RCA Records. The album's lead single, "Shut Up and Dance," was released Sept. 10 and last night the group performed the song on Late Night with Seth Meyers. (Watch below.)

The band's sophomore RCA full-length will be out before the year's end, according to the label.

Walk the Moon kicks off its coast-to-coast “Shut Up
and Tour” tour of smaller clubs in Seattle on Oct. 8. The band will perform
some of the new material on the tour, which does not include a hometown date.
The group will be in Columbus, Ohio, on Oct. 21, but that show instantly sold
out. The Columbus date is also the first of several shows that will feature like-minded
Cincinnati Pop Rock trio Public as
opening act.

Prices for three-day MPMF passes go up after Labor Day

Three-day “All Music Access” tickets for the 13th annual MidPoint Music Festival remain one of the best music fest deals in the country. But if you wait until after Monday to get yours, you’ll have to pay a little more.

On Tuesday, prices for the three-day passes will increase from $69 to $79. It’ll still be a great deal with the $10 bump, but you like to save money, right? Click here to get your tickets, which will get you into all of the shows throughout the three-day affair (barring shows that reach capacity by the time you get there).

MPMF (which is owned and operated by CityBeat) has added a few acts over the past few weeks. Artists added to the lineup in just this past week include Nashville’s Mary Bragg, Columbus, Ohio’s Old Hundred, Stockholm, Sweden’s Baskery, returning MPMF faves Sol Cat (from Nashville), Louisiana’s Baby Bee and L.A. Pop band machineheart.

Late September fest adds new venues, more all-ages opportunities

This morning, the full schedule (with a few exceptions) for this year's MidPoint Music Festival, which returns to Cincy Sept. 25-27, was announced. You can start building your itinerary now here.

This year's MPMF will remain centered around venues in the Over-the-Rhine and neighboring Downtown areas. A few new venues were announced — Memorial Hall, next to Music Hall, will be participating this year, as will the Christian Moerlein Brewery, which will feature showcases on a large outdoor stage (replacing the big-tent parking lot stage at Grammer's) and an indoor stage.

MPMF 2014 will also offer under-drinking-age music lovers more opportunities to explore the festival than ever. The outdoor Moerlein Brewery stage, Memorial Hall, The Ballroom at the Taft Theatre, the MidPoint Midway, Washington Park and the Contemporary Arts Center will all be open to fans of all ages.

Below is the full press release. Tickets are available now at mpmf.cincyticket.com. Stay tuned to MPMF.com (and corresponding social media pages) for the latest schedule additions and more.

CINCINNATI, Ohio (August 6, 2014) — The long wait is over. Fans eager to see what artists are playing at

MidPoint Music Festival will now find a full schedule online at MPMF.com. Approximately 150 acts from seven

countries, 57 cities, and across the tri-state region will perform in Cincinnati USA, September 25–27, 2014.

For weeks now, festival organizers have been leaking some bands and details via social media, but venue

and showcase times have been kept under wraps until today. All-access passes are on sale at mpmf.com for

what is arguably the best music festival value in the nation.

“We’ve always offered a wide array of music styles, but this year’s lineup has really developed into something

special and diverse,” said Dan McCabe, creative director. “I think fans would be hard pressed to find another

festival that can give you a bigger bang for your buck.”

Experience live music for three days

The 13th annual festival will present three exciting days of live music on 14 stages in the Over-the-Rhine and Downtown neighborhoods. While the event maintains its status as a primary showcase for emerging independent talent, there’s no denying that this year’s edition has raised the bar in booking established artists.

Cincinnati-music fans should take note that MidPoint welcomes one the most acclaimed local bands to break out in the 90s, The Afghan Whigs, who have stormed back better than ever with their first studio album in the past 16 years. MidPoint will be the only regional appearance for the band during their current world tour.

MidPoint will also be the tour kickoff for Chromeo, the “funk lordz” from Toronto, who are contending for the song of the summer with their single Jealous (I ain’t with it). Washington Park should expect a dance party with the band’s huge lightshow. Consequence of Sound called them a “must-see live show for any festival.”

Additionally, the festival will host some well-established names from the indie-music world over the past decade, including OK Go, The Raveonettes, Panda Bear, Sun Kil Moon and Joseph Arthur. Bands like Real Estate, St. Paul & the Broken Bones and Jessica Lea Mayfield are newer, but no less widely known.

Longtime MidPoint fans might also notice a wider array of music styles. The lineup still features a healthy

amount of pop and indie rock, but organizers have listened to fans’ suggestions, adding more:

Country Nikki Lane, Margo & the Price Tags, Bulletville;

Folk Lost in the Trees, Mutual Benefit, Woody Pines, Honey Locust, The Ridges;

R&B St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Magnolia Sons, The Almighty Get Down;

Blues Barrence Whitfield and the Savages, No Sinner, Left Lane Cruiser;

Heavy Metal Deafheaven, Liturgy; as well as more dance-oriented sounds like

Hip-hop/EDM Tycho, Dessa, WHY?, Body Language, and Parallels.

Experience new venues for young and old

Festival venues continue to evolve with great new, larger stages at Memorial Hall and Christian Moerlein Brewery. Younger fans will able see more showcases than ever with all-ages stages at the Contemporary Arts Center, Taft Ballroom, Memorial Hall, the MidPoint Midway, Christian Moerlein Outdoor Stage and Washington Park. In fact, children under 10 years of age can attend our Washington Park showcases for free with a paying adult. With afternoon music programmed for Washington Park on Saturday that could be just what the doctor ordered for parents who seldom get out to concerts.

Experience a unique festival atmosphere

Since 2001, MidPoint's goal has been to help you discover your new favorite band. Our embrace of today's

emerging artists is born of the same spirit employed by Cincinnati's celebrated musical pioneers, who always

reached for something new. This festival isn’t as much about the flavor-of-the-month, but rather a

tastemaker’s event where the bands performing will be what people are talking about next year.

For three days, fans can walk easily between venues dotted throughout beautiful, resurgent Over-the-Rhine.

This collection of young creative talent amongst an architecturally rich urban setting makes MidPoint a one-ofa-

kind experience. Unlike some festivals on a farm or a huge fielded area that could be anywhere, MidPoint

carries the heart of our city with intimate performances in smaller clubs and theaters. We think Cincinnati is

one of the best music cities in the world. With MidPoint showcasing bands and our city’s center, we are

putting our best foot forward towards showing this is a great place to live, work and play.

Everything is on an upswing in Over-the-Rhine and Downtown Cincinnati and we expect the fans to not just

If you were excited to catch New Jersey Indie Pop duo Brick + Mortar at last weekend’s Bunbury Music Festival, you were probably also disappointed that the twosome’s set was cut short due to bad weather. But next month you’ll have another chance to see the band. And it won’t cost you a penny.

When the MidPoint Indie Summer series on Fountain Square was announced, organizers held back unveiling the full lineup for the Aug. 15 show. Ohio party rockers The Nightbeast were the only performers announced at the time. (Below is The Nightbeast's latest music video, "Paid and Rowdy.")

Now that Bunbury is over, organizers have announced that Brick + Mortar will join The Nightbeast as co-headliners for the free Aug. 15 show. B+M is signed to Island Records and its track “Locked in a Cage,” released earlier this year, did well on the Alt music charts.

The rest of Aug. 15 lineup will be announced soon. For the full rundown of Indie Summer shows on Fountain Square, click here.

UPDATE: The other two acts for the Aug. 15 Indie Summer show have been announced: The Protomen (who will be fresh off their stint on the Warped Tour) will headline and Dayton's Dangerkids will also perform.

Another Bunbury band, Ohio Folk Rock crew Saintseneca, will also be returning to Cincinnati soon. The band is slated to perform at the MidPoint Music Festival in late September. Check out Saintseneca's recent appearance on World Cafe here.

Get tickets, check out the ever-growing lineup and find more MPMF info here.

The final MidPoint Music Festival headliner for the big stage at Washington Park has been confirmed. Pop Rock foursome OK Go, which releases its fourth album, Hungry Ghosts, on Oct. 14, will headline the Washington Park stage on Saturday, Sept. 27. The other Washington Park headliners are Chromeo (Thursday, Sept. 25) and Cincinnati-bred rockers The Afghan Whigs (Friday, Sept. 26).

Last month, OK Go released the first single from Hungry Ghosts, “The Writing’s on the Wall.” And, like several other OK Go singles, the clever accompanying music video became an instant viral sensation online, thanks to the wild optical illusions featured throughout. Out just three weeks, the clip has already logged close to nine million views on YouTube.

Two Cincinnati-spawned Rock acts featured on network TV on the same night

On June 4, two Cincinnati-born bands were featured on two different late-night network television shows. Rock foursome Buffalo Killers, promoting their excellent new album, Heavy Reverie, appeared on NBC’s Last Call with Carson Daly in a pre-recorded interview package sprinkled with some cool performance footage. It was the band’s network television debut.

Earlier that same night, one of Cincinnati’s most renowned musical exports, The Afghan Whigs, played on The Late Show with David Letterman. The band — which is coming home to headline this year’s MidPoint Music Festival — played a great version of their tune “Matamoros” from the recent Do to the Beast album, their first new LP in 16 years.

Cincinnati Pop Rock quartet Mixtapes formed about four years ago and immediately hit the road with a relentless dedication. The band’s hard work paid off and it has experienced great success, building a dedicated fan base across the country with great live shows and hook-drenched, nationally-released albums and singles.

As anyone who has seen Mixtapes live knows, the band’s shows are adrenalized, sweaty fun and their music, while growing more mature and diverse with each release, is sheer fist-pumping, singalong joyfulness.

Frontman Ryan Rockwell was living the dream. But somewhere along the way, his life became more like a nightmare. The fact that Mixtapes’ launch coincided with the death of his father certainly played a part in Rockwell’s difficulties. Though details are vague, according to a press release, Rockwell “started to watch himself deteriorate and become the type of person he hated the most. He tried things he never thought he would and got dangerously close to not making it out.”

"I had never felt more alone," Rockwell says in the release. "Friends that I have had for years literally just stopped talking to me, stopped responding, a large number of them. I turned to the only thing I knew, and I started writing about it. I don't know who was wrong or who was right, but I know how much it hurt and people that I have helped and would do anything for left me when I needed help the most. Other people stepped up and saved me. I don't place blame though … I became a different person for awhile.

Rockwell was trying to understand what was going on in himself to make him so unhappy, but found it difficult to express. So he did what he does best and channeled his emotions into writing and recording songs. Working with friends Kamal Hiresh and Zach George and using the name Youth Culture, Rockwell hit the basement and created what would become the 10-track album, I Hate How Normal I’ve Become, an accomplished and eclectic collection of songs that, while still instantly catchy, possess much more darkness than Mixtapes’ jubilant Punk Pop.

Rockwell released the Youth Culture album late last month as a “pay-what-you-want” (yes, even if you want to pay nothing) download.

“This is an album for people going through things they don't like to talk about or know how to express,” Rockwell says. “We did it all ourselves and paid for it all ourselves. First and foremost, we want you to hear it — which is why it's free. If you like it enough, we'd very much appreciate a donation to recoup costs and eventually put it out on vinyl. But as always with everything I've done, I just want it to get out there, so thank you so much for taking the time to listen; there's a lot of bands out there, thanks for giving this a spin."

Listen to I Hate How Normal I’ve Become below, then click the player to grab your very own copy.

&lt;a href="http://youthculturerock.bandcamp.com/album/i-hate-how-normal-ive-become"&gt;I Hate How Normal I've Become by Youth Culture&lt;/a&gt;

Fans worried that Youth Culture might signal the end of Mixtapes, fear not. The band is currently crisscrossing the United States on the massive Vans Warped Tour, which it'll be a part of until August. (The band is slated to appear at the Warped Tour’s Cincinnati stop on July 16 at Riverbend Music Center.)

Much has changed for the legendary Cincinnati live music venue the Blue Wisp Jazz Club over its 40-plus-year existence. Though it has consistently been the club for Jazz in Cincinnati over most of that period, the Blue Wisp has moved four different times over four decades. In its most recent locale at the corner of Race and Seventh streets downtown, the club owners also tried to attract more business by serving food and varying the types of music performed. But it wasn’t enough and the Blue Wisp has once again closed its doors (though various reports suggest it could find yet another new location in the future).

One thing that hadn’t changed at the Blue Wisp, at least since it began in 1980, is the Blue Wisp Big Band. The group of all-star local musicians has maintained one of the longest residency in the region, performing its skilled take on vintage Big Band Jazz like clockwork every Wednesday. The band is a Cincinnati institution.

When the Wisp shut down, the members of the Big Band were determined to not let their remarkable run end with a whimper. Instead, the Blue Wisp Big Band sought to continue its every-Wednesday residency at another venue. (In case you’re wondering, the group owns its moniker, so they can legally continue to use the “Blue Wisp” name.)

Veteran local Jazz pianist and Blue Wisp Big Band founding member Steve Schmidt says they’ve landed their new spot, Japp’s Annex on Main St. in Over-the-Rhine, and will pick up its Wednesday night shows beginning this week. Schmidt says the group will perform every Wednesday at Japp’s, at least through the end of July, when they’ll reassess the situation just to make sure it’s a good fit. The Big Band will again be playing two hour-long sets each Wednesday, the first starting at 8:30 p.m. The cover charge will be less than it was at the Wisp — just $5. (Parking is available in the lot on the corner of Main and Central Parkway, as well as in the garage behind the club on Sycamore.)

“We are excited about trying out this (Over-the-Rhine) spot and happy that the ownership and staff at Japp's is excited, too,” Schmidt says. “We are all thinking of ways to make it better for the customer and the band as we go along. The band wanted to start quickly, not to be dormant for too long.”

Several of the principal members of the Blue Wisp Big Band did a walkthrough several days ago to get a feel for the new space and were happy with what they saw (and felt).

“I got a very good feeling about the room,” Schmidt says, “both in terms of space — spacious yet intimate — and acoustics. I think the other guys felt the same way. (Founding BWBB anchor/drummer) John Von Ohlen rightly pointed out that there is a lot of wood — the floors and the large bar. As John said, in the fullest and most complimentary sense of the word, ‘It's a joint!’ It's what he had in mind when he formed the band and put it in the original Blue Wisp in O'Bryonville. He said he wanted a world-class big band in a beer tavern.”

Since being released nationally in early May, Cincinnati rockers Wussy’s amazing latest album Attica! has been scoring an insane amount of neon-glowing reviews from many high profile outlets. Pitchfork, Pop Matters and Spin, among many others, have all given the album high praise (Spin also recently named it one of the Top 50 album releases of the year so far, alongside long-players by Beck, Pharrell and The Afghan Whigs). The band’s new record was also the inspiration for a remarkable essay by Charles Taylor for The Los Angeles Review of Books.

Give a listen to the new album below, then hit “buy” to grab your own copy:

Wussy is playing its only local show until at least this fall tonight, as the group keeps busy on the road throughout the summer, crisscrossing the country in support of Attica! The band’s upward trajectory that has been kickstarted by the new album shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Real Estate, Tycho, Panda Bear and more set for September fest

A new batch of over 20 artists has been announced for this year’s MidPoint Music Festival, which returns to the clubs and venues of Over-the-Rhine and Downtown Sept. 25-27. The following acts join The Afghan Whigs, who were announced last week as the Washington Park headliners on Sept. 26, at 2014’s MPMF.

Real Estate

New Jersey Indie rockers Real Estate enhanced the buzz they’ve been building on in March when Domino Records issued the group’s latest album, Atlas. The tough critics at Pitchfork, supporters of the band since its 2009 debut, gave Atlas an 8.8 (out of 10) and said it’s “at once their most forlorn album and their most beautiful.” “It is rare, and special, for a band to be this effortlessly and completely themselves,” Pitchfork added.

Panda Bear

Noah Lennox is a founding member of Animal Collective but also a successful solo artist under his stage name, Panda Bear. His experimental, psychedelic style will be on glorious display at MPMF as he promotes his latest solo effort, Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper, due sometime this year on Domino Records. (Fun fact: Panda Bear was a guest artist on Daft Punk’s Album of the Year Grammy-winning Random Access Memories.)

Tycho

Ambient Electronic artist Tycho (born Scott Hansen) makes critically acclaimed music for the esteemed Ghostly International label. His latest album, Awake, came out in March and reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Albums chart (and No. 23 on the general Billboard album chart). In a review of the new album, Consequence of Sound said, “Listening to Tycho is the aural equivalent of exploring a new art museum. The overall effect is one of remarkable beauty and you still have the option of how you’ll take it in.”

Deafheaven

Uniquely adventurous San Francisco metallers Deafheaven take a unique approach to Black Metal, which has led to wider acclaim and a more diverse audience than most other Black Metal bands … and, of course, has led to some of the genre’s fans to decry them as “not Black Metal.” Whatever. The group’s fantastic Sunbather was one of the more compelling albums of 2013 (and, subsequently, one of the best reviewed albums of last year, as well). Here’s CityBeat’s interview with the band from earlier this year.

Gardens & Villa

After spending a couple of years touring the world and becoming a tighter, better band in the process, Californian Indie Electro Pop band Gardens & Villa released its second album, Dunes, on the Secretly Canadian imprint earlier this year.

The Raveonettes

Danish Indie Rock duo The Raveonettes have been buzzing around since 2001, when Rolling Stone editor David Fricke saw the band at a music festival and publicly raved about them. The twosome’s fuzzy Pop sound was an instant hit upon the release of Chain Gang of Love on Columbia in 2003. Over a decade later, Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo are prepping their seventh full-length and continue to tour the globe.

Sun Kil Moon

Mark Kozelek first brought his emotive, slo-mo Indie Rock to the masses with the great Red House Painters. When that band dissolved around the turn of the century, the singer/songwriter and actor (he was in Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous and Vanilla Sky) continued the vibe with Sun Kil Moon, which released its sixth album, Benji (featuring Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley and Will Oldham, among other guests), in February of this year. In July, Kozelek will release a live Sun Kil Moon album.

Barrence Whitfield & the Savages

The Afghan Whigs aren’t the only MPMF band with international acclaim and Cincinnati ties. Vintage R&B/Rock & Roll outfit Barrence Whitfield & the Savages was formed in the ’80s by Soul shouter Whitfield and Peter Greenberg, guitarist for the pioneering Cincy Garage Rock band The Customs (and, later in Boston, DMZ and The Lyres). The twosome reformed the band (with some local musicians in the fold) and released the locally-recorded Savage Kings album in 2010. Building a bigger audience with every tour, the band’s Dig Thy Savage Soul album last year was its best received yet, leading to successful shows across Europe (and a spot of Later … with Jools Holland in the U.K.). Read CityBeat’s feature story on the band from last year when they played a two-night stand at MPMF venue MOTR Pub.

EMA is Erika M. Anderson, a South Dakota native who honed her chops in the California experimental music scene. With EMA, Anderson makes slinky Indie Pop Rock so infectious it caught the attention of indie label giants Matador Records. The label released EMA’s latest album, The Future’s Void, in April to widespread praise.

Ex Hex

Ex Hex is the new band from Mary Timony, leader of Helium, member of Wild Flag and also a solo artist (the band name comes from the title of her 2005 Lookout! Records album). The band’s first release, the 7-inch single “Hot and Cold,” came out on Merge Records in March.

Landlady

Formed by Man Man’s Adam Schatz, Brooklyn’s Landlady became a hometown favorite thanks to consistently great live shows and a 2011 self-released album. In July, the band releases its new album, Upright Behavior, on Hometapes, home to artists like Matthew E. White and Megafaun.

Speedy Ortiz

When Massachusetts Indie Rock band Speedy Ortiz had its first official full-length, Major Arcana, released on Carpark Records last year, the band instantly became an audience and critical favorite, landing on many scribes’ “Best of 2013” lists. The A.V. Club called the album “a markedly assured debut, one that makes Speedy Ortiz an act to watch. Like its songs, the band’s detonation is inevitable.” Earlier this year, the band released the Real Hair EP.

Low Cut Connie

After building a strong following in Cincinnati thanks to repeated visits (including a great set at last year’s MPMF), Piano Rock crew Low Cut Connie return for another rollicking show in the Queen City. Read CityBeat’s interview with LCC from March here.

The Tontons

Houston Indie rockers The Tontons hit the touring circuit hard over the past seven years and now, with the release of their second album, Make Out King and Other Stories of Love, earlier this year, the hard work is paying off for the band. The self-released LP received high praise from the likes of The New York Times, Paste and Rolling Stone.

Ex-Cult

Psych/Proto Punk band Ex-Cult hails from Memphis and recently released its second album, Midnight Passenger, on Goner Records. CMJ says, “This second full-length breathes with a more expansive volume and guitar churn, without resorting to every other current garage band’s habit of just dumping reverb on everything. In fact as this rec moves along, its snaky sprawl sees the band crawling out of its genre garage, like spilled oil and gas seeping into the weeds and cracks in the driveway, making everything a bit more slippery as you approach.”

Milagres

Brooklyn’s Milagres make Indie Synth Rock for the Kill Rock Stars label. After the success of their 2011 album, Glowing Mouth, the band released Violent Light in early 2014.

Rubblebucket

Formed by two former members of Reggae group John Brown’s Body, trippy Dance Rock band Rubblebucket self-released its debut, Rose’s Dream, in 2008. Since then, the band has had its cover of The Beatles’ “Michelle” declared on the 50 greatest Fab Four covers of all time by Paste, appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live and recorded with LCD Soundsystem’s Eric Broucek. The band’s most recent release is the EP Save Charlie.

Mutual Benefit

NYC-based Mutual Benefit is the dreamy project of singer/songwriter Jordan Lee, who grew up in suburban Columbus, Ohio. Last year’s debut full-length, Love’s Crushing Diamond, drew comparisons to the likes of Sufjan Stevens and Grizzly Bear.

The Cave Singers

Seattle Indie Folk group The Cave Singers formed in 2007 out of the ashes of the great Pretty Girls Make Graves. The band’s latest album, Naomi, came out last year on Jagjaguwar.

July Talk

Canadian Indie rockers July Talk formed just a couple of years ago, but already they have an international profile, touring with artists like Billy Talent and Besnard Lakes and catching audiences attention with a great live show. The group recently premiered a new music video for “Summer Dress,” a song slated for a forthcoming EP.

St. Paul & the Broken Bones

Alabama Soul ensemble St. Paul & the Broken Bones’ great sound and live show have made them a favorite on the international touring circuit. The band’s debut album, Half the City, came out earlier this year, leading to the group’s appearance on CBS’s The Late Late Show and, more recently, a nomination for Emerging Act of the Year from the Americana Music Association.

Three-day tickets (and VIP tickets) are on sale now at mpmf.cincyticket.com. Today at noon, single-show tickets for The Afghan Whigs’ all-ages (kids under 10 can get in free with a paying adult) concert in Washington Park on Sept. 26 go on sale at the same site.

For the latest MidPoint updates, be sure to visit mpmf.com. You can also follow MPMF on Twitter here and Facebook here.